The great irony of the Abbott government’s plan enforce the mandatory data retention legislation is that while this is being done to make us safer, in fact it creates new data security risks for us all.

Netflix has scored an early win with its hotly anticipated launch into Australia, with the subscription video-on-demand service already accounting for 15 per cent of iiNet's internet traffic, according to the internet service provider.

Optus has admitted to three data breaches affecting more than 300,000 customers and promised the Australian Privacy Commissioner it will complete an independent review of its IT security systems and implement any recommendations.

The public interest advocate, a key aspect of the renegotiated metadata laws, would be unable to do anything more than “sermonise” when seeking to maintain the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, two silks have warned.

Australian now has one of the most draconian mass surveillance regimes in the Western world. Yesterday the Senate passed the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014.

TPG Telecom’s second-biggest shareholder has hit out at criticism of its takeover bid for iiNet, saying company founder Michael Malone had been prepared to sell most of his shares for a lot less than the current takeover bid.